


Clair de Lune (The Recital)

by fourwingflight



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Music AU, more to tag as it's written
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-20
Updated: 2016-04-20
Packaged: 2018-06-03 09:11:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 553
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6605122
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fourwingflight/pseuds/fourwingflight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Will is just another student until Hannibal breaks him out of his shell.<br/>Hannibal is just a voice coach until Will recognizes the tune hummed by an amnesiac found by the police.</p><p>Will is a budding musical genius that needs coaching to get over what appears to be stage fright. He is pointed to the renowned skills of one Hannibal Lector, an orchestral veteran. Can the talented young man solve the mystery before he becomes the next victim?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Clair de Lune (The Recital)

It wasn't the first time he had gotten the "living beneath your potential" speech". So he had the rhythm of muttering thanks when an empty compliment was given and nodding in response to berating. He wishes he did not have to get interrogated about why he never auditions despite a long file of teachers' glowing recommendations since grade school. 

"Mr. Graham, I want you to succeed." the adviser reiterated and spun a pen circularly. 

"Is there any alternative to the live performance requirement?" the third-year university student pleaded.

The adviser set down his pen to lean forward on the grey, standard office desk between them in a way he must have imagined to be sincere. 

"Everyone get stage fright, Will. But if you think it's enough of a problem-"

"I do not need to see a therapist." the young man interjects.

"And I agree, as long as you don't think the problem is part of some bigger problem. I would, however, recommend seeing a voice coach. " the wiser man proposes. Will almost chuckles but politely hides his face with a hand that rubs at the stress knotting his face into sarcastic grimaces. 

"Heh-a voice coach...I don't understand. You've seen my grades! My performance in class-" Graham gripes

"Isn't the concern here! The concern is you have not actually performed since you've attended this college. If you can't perform, you can't graduate. That's how our department's program works. We aren't giving out degrees to people that just like to sing in the showers or around campfires to impress girls! We graduate performers. Artists." barks the older man as his dark wrinkles get deeper. "So, until you can perform, I suggest you see a voice coach...I'll find his details for you."

The grey-haired adviser turns away from Will to a large monitor against the other wall. He begins to click around for bit. The clacking of the keyboard is a rhythm without a melody and thumps across the room _like unevenly-spaced ripples in a cold, beige pond. A low-hanging branch of a tree loses a soldier in the wind and the leaf flutters towards the pond. A bird begins chirping, but he's on the wrong side of the reflection. Like the clouds are lip-reading the winged singer, they tighten around the tree and darken the sky above it. The clouds reply with thunder. The lightning can not be seen by the ripples. Only the bird trapped in the pond's mirror can feel the storm_ Mr. Graham. Mr. Graham?

"Will!" the adviser barks, making the student jump before he actually reassembles in consciousness. There's a note written on the boring desk in front of him now. Will looks from the note up to the only other person in the room. 

"That's the best voice coach I know in the state. A real prodigy in his day and he gets results. Not a single complaint from his students; plenty of them have become just as successful. If your reputation is half of what your instructors have told me, you'd truly benefit from this kind of individual attention-away from the stage. Think of it like tutoring! He's dealt with your sort of problems before."

At the end of long promotion, he was only more skeptical. 

"Just think about it, Will." the adviser smiles widely and knowingly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll try to make the next chapters longer, but I'm still feeling out the progression of the story. Will is using his creativity in a slightly different way and that requires different visualizations of the world around him. 
> 
> Next Chapter- "Bergamasques (A party that never ends, A dawn that never comes)"


End file.
